Ice Making System Pressure-Based De-Icing for Continuous Operation
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The ice making refrigeration apparatus experiences a phenomenon where seawater flow in the inner pipe is interrupted due to ice accumulation, leading to difficulties in continuous operation, with no existing countermeasures to address this issue.
Innovation Solution
The system includes pressure sensors to detect pressure differences between the inflow and discharge ports, activating a de-icing mechanism that stops the pump and blade mechanism to prevent damage, and utilizes a refrigerant circuit with a four-way switching valve to switch between ice making and de-icing operations, ensuring the de-icing operation is completed before resuming ice production.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the ice making refrigeration apparatus operates continuously, then ice production efficiency is improved, but ice accumulation occurs in the inner pipe interrupting seawater flow
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary detection of ice accumulation conditions by monitoring pressure difference between inflow and discharge ports, and executes de-icing operation before ice accumulation completely interrupts seawater flow, thereby maintaining continuous operation capability while ensuring ice production efficiency
2Reliability
If the de-icing mechanism is activated to melt ice accumulation, then ice flow interruption is resolved, but the pump and blade mechanism may be damaged due to ice adhesion
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies preliminary anti-action by stopping the pump and blade mechanism before activating the de-icing mechanism, preventing ice adhesion damage to these components during the de-icing process, while still resolving ice flow interruption through the de-icing operation
3Reliability
If pressure sensors are installed to detect ice accumulation, then de-icing operation can be activated timely, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses the existing seawater flow system itself to detect ice accumulation by monitoring pressure difference between inflow and discharge ports, eliminating the need for separate complex detection mechanisms while achieving timely ice accumulation detection and de-icing operation activation
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This configuration effectively detects and addresses ice accumulation, preventing damage to the blade mechanism and ensuring continuous operation by melting ice in the tank and preventing recurrence of ice accumulation during the de-icing process.
Implementation Method 1
a de-icing mechanism that heats the medium to be cooled in the cooling chamber
Implementation Method 2
pressure sensors to detect pressure differences between the inflow and discharge ports
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
An ice making system (A) includes a tank (8) that stores a medium to be cooled, an ice making machine (1) that cools the medium to be cooled and makes ice, a pump (9) that circulates the medium to be cooled between the tank (8) and the ice making machine (1), a de-icing mechanism that heats the medium to be cooled and melts the ice in the ice making machine (1), and a control device (50) that controls operations of the ice making machine (1), the pump (9), and the de-icing mechanism, in which the ice making machine (1) includes a cooling chamber (12) that cools the medium to be cooled, an inflow port (16) through which the medium to be cooled flows into the cooling chamber (12), and a discharge port (17) through which the medium to be cooled is discharged from the cooling chamber (12), and the control device (50) activates the de-icing mechanism when a pressure difference between a pressure of the medium to be cooled at the inflow port (16) and a pressure of the medium to be cooled at the discharge port (17) exceeds a predetermined value.